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Saturday, 5 September 2015

NARAHA, Japan (AP) — Japan's government on Saturday
lifted a 4 1/2-year-old evacuation order for the northeastern town of
Naraha that had sent all of the town's 7,400 residents away following
the disaster at the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant.

Naraha became the first to get the order lifted among seven
municipalities forced to empty entirely due to radiation
contamination following the massive earthquake and tsunami that sent
the plant's reactors into triple meltdowns in March 2011.

The central government has said radiation levels in Naraha have
fallen to levels deemed safe following decontamination efforts.

According to a government survey, however, 53 percent of the
evacuees from Naraha, which is 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the
nuclear plant, say they're either not ready to return home
permanently or are undecided. Some say they've found jobs elsewhere
over the past few years, while others cite radiation concerns.

Naraha represents a test case, as most residents remain cautious
amid lingering health concerns and a lack of infrastructure. In the
once-abandoned town, a segment of a national railway is still out of
service, with the tracks covered with grass. Some houses are falling
down and wild boars roam around at night.

Only about 100 of the nearly 2,600 households have returned since
a trial period began in April. Last year, the government lifted
evacuation orders for parts of two nearby towns, but only about half
of their former residents have returned.

Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said that Saturday marked an
important milestone.
"Our clock started moving again," he said during a
ceremony held at a children's park. "The lifting of the
evacuation order is one key step, but this is just a start."
Matsumoto said he hoped Naraha could set a good example of a
recovering town for the other affected municipalities.

About 100,000 people from about 10 municipalities around the
wrecked plant still cannot go home. The government hopes to lift all
evacuation orders except for the most contaminated areas closest to
the plant by March 2017 — a plan many evacuees criticize as an
attempt to showcase Fukushima's recovery ahead of the 2020 Tokyo
Summer Olympics.

Matsumoto said that fear of radiation and nuclear safety was still
present, and that Naraha had a long way to go in its recovery. The
town will be without a medical clinic until October, while a new
prefectural hospital won't be ready until February.

A grocery store started free delivery services in July, and a
shopping center will open next year. Still, many residents,
especially those who don't drive, face limited options for their
daily necessities.

Residents have been given personal dosimeters to check their own
radiation levels. To accommodate their concerns, the town is also
running 24-hour monitoring at a water filtration plant, testing tap
water for radioactive materials.

Toshiko Yokota, a 53-year-old homemaker who had to leave her
Naraha house after the disaster, said Saturday that she came back to
attend the ceremony and clean her home, and that she eventually wants
to move back with her husband. Their house was damaged by rats, bugs
and rainwater leaks in their absence, and still needs to be fully
renovated, but she hopes to return in a few years.
"My friends are all in different places because of the
nuclear accident, and the town doesn't even look the same, but this
is still my hometown and it really feels good to be back," said
Yokota, who currently lives in another town in Fukushima prefecture.
"I still feel uneasy about some things, like radiation levels
and the lack of a medical facility," she said. "In order to
come back, I have to keep up my hope and stay healthy."